Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,338 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 690 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% in the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $138,629,000 after purchasing an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $63.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $48.96 and a 12-month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.